Police cordons as bomb squad called to two separate Devon alerts

A cordon around an unexploded German bomb discovered on a building site in Plymouth has been widened, police have said.

Specialist firm S.I UXO was called in to deal with the bomb – confirmed to be a WWII German Drop Bomb weighing about 50kg – and a 400m (1,312ft) was in place, expanded from 100m earlier, said police.

In a separate incident in Exmouth, police also put up a 100m cordon at Exmouth Marina after a “suspected unexploded ordnance” was dredged out of the water, with properties within the cordon evacuated.

The Royal Navy said its Devonport-based bomb disposal team, Bravo Squadron, was assisting in Plymouth. A separate unit from the Midlands has arrived in Exmouth, said firefighters.

A police spokesperson said a number of roads had been closed in Plymouth and people were being asked to avoid the area while attempts were made to identify the ordnance and make it safe.

Plymouth City Council said the Moxy Hotel, which adjoins the site, had also been evacuated, adding vehicles parked within the cordon could not be accessed or removed until the cordon was lifted.

Earlier Millbay Academy, which has more than 500 pupils, thanked “students, families, staff and the wider community for your cooperation and support today” as the school was evacuated.

Devon and Cornwall Police said teams were also at Exmouth Marina “after a suspected unexploded ordnance was dredged out of the water”.

Exmouth Sports Centre had been opened “for anyone being displaced who needs somewhere to go”, it said.

Officers had set up a 100m cordon and properties were being evacuated and a bomb disposal team from the Midlands has been deployed to Exmouth, according to Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, and they arrived in the seaside Devon town at about 19:25 GMT.

BBC reporter Richard Green, who was at the scene in Exmouth, said: “There were lots of firefighters, lots of police and council workers all milling about waiting for the bomb disposal experts to arrive.

“It was calm, the cordon was in place, it was being managed and people were being escorted out of their houses.”

Exmouth resident John Cameron said police had been knocking on doors within the cordon, advising people to evacuate their properties.

Before the evacuation, he said he could see the dredger in the marina, with a large object about 3-4ft (0.91 to 1.22 metres) in length and 2ft in diameter onboard the vessel.

Devon and Cornwall Police said LED Exmouth Leisure Centre, on Imperial Road, was available for anyone being displaced who needed somewhere to go.

In Plymouth, parents and guardians of pupils from Millbay Academy were asked to pick up the children at St Mary and St Boniface Cathedral.

David Salvage, who was collecting his grandchild, said: “Everyone has been calm, there’s been no difficulty at all.

“We normally go for a coffee and an ice cream, but we’ll have to miss that today.”

Luke Pollard, Labour MP for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport, joined police calls for drivers to avoid the area.

The council’s parking enforcement team had temporarily suspended parking enforcement in areas around Millbay “where residents may be impacted by the road closures”, he said.

“This is an ongoing issue and I am in touch with the council and the police,” he said.